Philippians 4:12-13 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/18)2020)...

“When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.”

Zig Ziglar 

Philippians‬ ‭4:12-13‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

‭‭

1 Peter‬ ‭5:6-7‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Image: Creative Commons (pxhere.com)

Psalm 37:4-5 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/17/2020)...

“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end -- which you can never afford to lose -- with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Admiral James Stockdale (1923-2005)

NOTE: Admiral Stockdale was a prisoner of war for eight years during the Vietnam War. Following release from captivity, he was asked how he survived those unthinkable eight years of imprisonment.

Psalms‬ ‭37:4-5‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

Image: Creative Commons (Unsplash.com)

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/16/2020)...

Presently, my morning personal devotions include a contemplative Bible reading of First and Second Thessalonians. In light of the many challenges facing all of us recently, I found the following advice from Apostle Paul most helpful. I trust you do also. Be well my friends.

Rocky

1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:14-22‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 

See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 

Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.

Image: Creative Commons (pxhere.com)

John 6:35 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/15/2020)...

“If Jesus is the Bread of Life, loss of Jesus means starving. If Jesus is the Light of the World, loss of Jesus means darkness. If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, loss of Jesus means wandering alone and lost. If Jesus is the resurrection and the life, loss of Jesus is eternal death. And if Jesus is the Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sins, loss of Jesus means paying that price for ourselves.”

Rebecca McLaughlin

John‬ ‭10:11, 14-15‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep...I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.”

‭‭

John‬ ‭6:35‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

‭‭

John‬ ‭8:12‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John‬ ‭12:44-46‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1:29‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

‭‭

Image: Creative Commons Google search

1 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/12/2020)...

“...the primary ministry of a Christian is the ministry of character. What we are is far more important than anything we ever say. Our unconscious influence speaks more loudly than our conscious influence.”

Wm MacDonald

1 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:9-12‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) “Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.”

Apostle Paul

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/11/2020)...

“Real courage embraces the twin realities of current difficulty and ultimate triumph. Yes, life stinks. But it won’t forever. As one of my friends likes to say, ‘Everything will work out in the end. If it’s not working out, it’s not the end.’”

Max Lucado

Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭(NLT‬) And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Romans‬ ‭8:18-25‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

Image: Creative Commons (pxhere.com)

1 John 2:9-11 (NLT)

FROM TODAY’S READING (6/10/2020)...

“Why has [racism] been so difficult to eradicate? Because racism is not first and foremost a skin problem. It is a sin problem. See, when you believe that racism is a skin problem, you can take three hundred years of slavery, court decisions, marches, and the federal government involvement and still not get it fixed right.

But once you admit that racism is a sin problem, you are obligated as a believer to deal with it right away. As long as the issue of race is social and not spiritual, it will never be dealt with in any ultimate sense.”

Dr. Tony Evans (https://tonyevans.org/not-a-skin-problem-but-a-sin-problem/)

1 John‬ ‭2:9-11‬ ‭(NIV‬‬) Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Image: Google Images